There’s nothing more refreshing and inspiring than a room full of sailors.* Our September 10 Latitude 38 Baja Ha-Ha Crew Party at Spaulding Marine Center welcomed over 200 sailors, with most looking to become crew and some skippers looking to find crew. About 70 attendees were on hand for Patsy Verhoeven’s most excellent Baja Ha-Ha cruising seminar, with the majority of sailors going this year, and some planning for a year from now. They all have unique and interesting sailing stories to tell.

We had a great time talking with sailor Summer Rae, in the middle of the photo below. She told us she flew down from Salt Lake City just for the party. We asked how she connected with Latitude and she told of picking it up in the Bay Area one time. She’s been addicted to it ever since. It would be embarrassing to tell you all the nice things she said about Latitude 38 and its impact on her life, but it was nice to hear.

Later, we were talking with the tallest guy in the room, Drew, pictured below, and asked him how he ended up at the party. Shockingly, he said he was also a Salt Lake City sailor, and also spoke highly of the print edition of Latitude 38. He came down from SLC for the party. Cool.

We said, “Wait a minute, do you know Summer?” as we pointed to her across the room. They’d never met. We introduced them while admiring Drew’s shirt that he had made up especially for the party. We were also joined by Yuen (sp?), who said she’d just moved here, didn’t sail, but was hoping to get started. Asking her how she found out about the party, she said she asked AI about sailing in the Bay Area and somehow our name popped up. She jumped onto her motorcycle and came to the party. Guess we have to thank a data center somewhere. It’s amazing the connections you can make at the Crew Party.

We then got another dose of good cheer from Jake Moorhead, who was puzzled about how we keep producing a printed magazine each month. He’s amazed that it keeps coming out and wondered about the price of printing and all the rest. We asked him an important question: “Do you want to buy an ad?” He wasn’t ready to do that but he said he would be interested in contributing. Well, that’s cool. Jake was down from Portland, OR, but he stays on a sweet ride, his beautifully restored Gozzard 41 One Love, which he keeps at Brickyard Cove in Point Richmond.

Jake started sailing when an uncle plopped him aboard a Sunfish at age 16 and pushed him out onto a lake. He said, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” To which his uncle replied, “You’ll figure it out.” And he did. Later he bought a Tartan 33 but also had this supposedly unachievable dream of someday owning a Gozzard. He figured that out too.

Wars and all the rest are making diesel for our FedEx deliveries and everything else more expensive, so  if you want to join Jake in contributing to the production of Latitude 38, you can do that here.

Then we met Rob, who hails from Vermont. Rob loves the small-town feel of Vermont but also loves to sail. Vermont has more months of iceboating than sailing on liquid water, so he decided to move to San Francisco so he could sail all year round. Despite his appreciation for rural Vermont he also loves the vibrancy of the Bay Area with its quick access to nature on the Bay or hiking the surrounding hills. And the Bay never freezes over.

We went over to Spaulding Marine Center early to get everything set up, and while all the Spaulding apprentices had cleaned up the main floor, they were still at work upstairs. There we came across an active woodshop where Spaulding Marine Center’s apprentices were learning the skills to be part of the Bay Area marine trades.

Spaulding remains an ideal place for a sailing party. It has the soul of sailing built into its floorboards, hung from the rafters and embedded into every corner of the boatyard. Sailors appreciate the lines and curves of every boat in the yard and the stories that could be told by all who have passed through its gates. That soul is what also inspires the beginning of new stories as old sailors meet new sailors so new adventures are born.

The evening was another reminder of why hanging out with a group of people connecting over future sailing adventures will always be uplifting and inspiring. If you missed the party you don’t need to miss the Bay or sailing. Add your name to Latitude 38‘s Crew List here.

*Speaking of meeting sailors “IRL,” we received a note from the Sausalito Boat Show that they are looking for volunteers for the boat show, running September 25–27: “Been thinking about coming to the Sausalito Boat Show, September 25–27? Select volunteer positions are still available — sign up for a shift and receive a complimentary weekend pass to enjoy three days of incredible boats, on-the-water experiences, local food and drink, and waterfront fun!”

It’s another great way to get connected to sailing. Sign up here and visit Latitude 38 at booth #203.